Atatürk’s Trusted Physician: Mim Kemal Öke

Whenever I look at social media these days, programs featuring doctors are being shared everywhere, which suddenly brought Mim Kemal to my mind. I would like to share a little bit about him.

While Atatürk was fighting for the homeland in Tripoli, a piece of shrapnel hit a limestone block right in front of him, shattering it. Large grains of sand scattered all around. One of these grains struck Atatürk’s left eye. The initial medical intervention was performed by a young physician named Mim Kemal. Their first acquaintance began right there, and they became close friends. Mim Kemal served on every front during the War of Independence. When Atatürk fell ill, Mim Kemal was one of the doctors by his side. In fact, the famous quote ‘Entrust me to Turkish physicians’ was spoken for a group of two or three doctors that included Mim Kemal. Atatürk trusted Mim Kemal immensely, and Mim Kemal loved Atatürk deeply.

So, what is the secret behind the name ‘Mim Kemal’? Let me share a beautiful piece of information that you won’t find just anywhere. His real name was actually Mustafa Kemal. When he was deployed to Tripoli, because he was in the same region as Atatürk, the two Mustafa Kemals began to get mixed up. In Ottoman Turkish, the letter ‘M’ is pronounced as ‘Mim’. Physician Mustafa Kemal shortened his first name Mustafa to ‘Mim’. For this reason, people started addressing the doctor as M. Kemal, meaning ‘Mim Kemal’. When the Surname Law was enacted, Atatürk gave him the surname ‘Öke’, which means ‘genius’.

Let’s add one more quick fact. The grandson of Physician Mim Kemal Öke is also named Mim Kemal. The younger Mim Kemal holds the title of the youngest person to ever achieve the rank of Professor in the history of the Republic of Turkey.

Berk ŞİMŞEK